“Africa will no longer need to ask for respect from anyone; we will receive the respect we deserve if we stop being beggars and spend African money within the continent. Respect will follow if we make it prosperous as it should be,” Mr. Akufo-Addo stated at the opening of the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit on Tuesday in Washington, DC.
Mr. Akufo-Addo urged Africans to work together more to achieve shared goals.
On the same day that the International Monetary Fund agreed to provide Ghana with a $3 billion (£2.4 billion) loan to alleviate an unprecedented economic downturn in the West African nation, Nana Akufo-Addo made the remarks.
Ghana’s economic woes have been made worse by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has led to a collapse in the value of its currency, the cedi, and historic inflation of more than 40%. The country already has a lot of debt.
For a significant summit that President Biden is hosting, nearly 50 African leaders and delegates are in Washington, DC.
It is the focal point of a significant effort to reestablish and enhance U.S. ties with African nations, whose ties to China and, increasingly, Russia have come under scrutiny.